The Asian City: Modern/Vertical vs. Pre-modern/Horizontal Spaces

Abstract

This chapter addresses the ‘Asian city’ as elemental to the geographies of James Bond. It explores the differing depictions of Asian cities and urban landscapes noting two fundamental distinctions. First, a division is drawn between the developed and cosmopolitan cities of East Asia (like Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai) with the lesser developed urban spaces of South and Southeast Asia (such as Bangkok, Udaipur, and Ho Chi Man City). While the former is defined by their vertical development, technological advancement, and nighttime color, the latter are defined as being horizontal, chaotic, and pre-modern. The second distinction is in the ways that Bond demonstrates his fieldwork skills. While Bond’s high-tech encounters with the local resources in East Asia emphasize their social and geopolitical equitability with Britain (as both allies and threats), his destructive street-level encounters in South and Southeast Asia demonstrate a sheer disregard for these spaces and their corresponding nations. The franchise presents the impression that South and Southeast cities can easily be exploited with little geopolitical ramifications.